Elon Musk backed off his reported plot to cut off phone service for the public to the Social Security Administration following a hot cascade of criticism from Americans and their lawmakers. Young DOGE staff complained to Social Security officials about phone fraud they have yet to reveal or prove,

The Social Security Administration may drastically cut back the phone service relied on by 73 million retired and disabled Americans under pressure from Elon Musk's team in the U.S. DOGE Service. The agency's leadership is considering a proposal to end telephone service for processing claims and direct-deposit bank transactions and instead direct

The Washington Post published an article (archived) titled "Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service." The story alleged that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative championed by Elon Musk was attempting to push the Social Security Administration (SSA) to cut its telephone service for claims processing and direct deposit transactions.